The present invention is directed to a coin dispensing apparatus utilizing a coin hopper for storing bulk coins, and more particularly, to improvements to prevent coin blockage and jamming of a coin selector which dispenses individual coins from the coin hopper.
Coin dispensing devices have been frequently utilized in arcades, casinos, change dispensing machines, vending machines, etc. In such devices, coins, medallions, tokens, and similar devices are stored in bulk and selectively removed from storage, counted, and dispensed to a user.
Various examples of coin dispensers with coin hoppers are known, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,599 and Japanese Laid Open Patent Application No. 6-56861 (1994). In the Japanese Laid Open Patent Application, as shown in FIG. 11, a coin bowl of a rectangular configuration was connected to a cylindrical lower bowl portion having a coin selecting rotating disk located at the lower portion of the coin bowl. A flexible or elastic cantilevered member was mounted adjacent the interface of the upper and lower portion of the coin bowl and extended horizontally outward and above the rotating disk.
Referring to FIG. 11, the coin hopper 1 has a coin bowl 4 mounted on a slanting substrate 3 which, in turn, is fixed to a support bracket 2. The coin bowl 4 has an upper rim that is rectangular in shape. A rotating disk selector 5 is shown by a dotted line and is located in the cylindrical portion of the lower part of the coin bowl 4. The cantilevered bar 7 is fixed to the upper part of the coin bowl 4 above the rotating disk. The rotating selector disk 5 is utilized to dispense individual coins from the bulk coins stored in the coin hopper 1. An upper rectangular extending bowl 6 is fixed to the upper part of the coin bowl 4, as shown in dotted lines. When coins are stored in the extended bowl 6, they can be partially supported on the cantilever member 7 to thereby reduce the pressure at the bottom of the coin bowl 4. The cantilever member 7 has an elastic spring which can change position depending on the weight of the coins.
There is still a desire in the prior art to improve, in a cost efficient manner, the storage and dispensing of bulk coins from a coin hopper in a coin dispensing apparatus that can minimize coin blockage.
The present invention provides a coin dispensing assembly having a coin storage unit, such as a coin hopper and a coin selector unit for removing coins from the coin storage unit. A support member, such as an overload prevention bar, is supported across the coin selector unit and is capable of bearing the weight of a portion of the coins above the coin selector unit. The support member can be relatively rigid and mounted to enable a predetermined vertical movement within the storage unit. The support member can be journaled within elongated vertically oriented slots in the walls of the coin hopper. Additionally, a second support member or overload prevention bar can be similarly mounted in the coin storage unit.
A coin selector unit, which can include a rotating disk with appropriate apertures or configurations on the disk to assist in selecting and segregating individual coins for dispensing, is mounted at the bottom of the coin storage unit to receive a gravity feed of the bulk stored coins. A rotating helical unit can extend above the coin selector unit and can include a vertically extending shaft directly connected to the coin selector unit for rotation therewith and a helical coil member mounted about the shaft. The helical coin member can be a metallic or plastic spring-like member that extends along the length of the vertically extending shaft. The vertically extending shaft can be positioned, for example, between the respective support members that are journaled for vertical movement in the walls of the coin storage unit and are spaced approximately half the diameter of the desired sized coin or token from the rotating helical unit. The support members can include rods that are journaled within the coin storage unit walls and sleeves that can rotate with or about the rods. The components that provide these anti-jamming coin features can easily be replaced if they become worn during a maintenance of the coin dispenser assembly.